Whether stopping in the halls of Natick Soldier Systems Center to ask a worker how his day was going or volunteering to take a turn in a dunk tank, Maj. Gen. Harold Greene was thinking about others.

L. Scott Rice, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, who knew Greene since both were in college, recalled that he would say "everything you do, everything is about people."

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MetroWest Daily News reported Friday, hundreds of people turned out to honor him as the town dedicated the street leading to Natick Soldier Systems Center to Greene, who was killed in combat in Afghanistan last year.

Greene served as senior commander at the Natick base from 2009 to 2011.

Greene, who was shot by a gunman at Afghanistan's defense university, was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

Greene's son, Army First Lt. Matthew Greene, removed the covering over a new street sign as Kansas Street became General Greene Avenue.

Officials also unveiled a memorial and benches funded by several donations from businesses and the Natick Veterans Relief Fund.

Military, state and local leaders recalled Greene's personable attitude, desire to make connections on and off the base and his love of the Red Sox.

"Gen. Greene was a believer (in) and practitioner of partnerships," Selectman Josh Ostroff said. "He encouraged collaboration and teamwork. He loved his country and he used his unique skills as an engineer, a communicator, a team builder and a leader to serve the nation."

Ostroff said it is fitting that Kansas Street now bears the general's name since a project to improve the road and its intersection with Rte. 27 was a collaboration between the town, state and base.

Francisco Urena, the state secretary of veterans' services, said Greene was "a patriot not only in the battlefield but in our communities."

Greene's widow, Susan Myers, said a "framework of accountability and responsibility" is critical to protecting troops' lives.

"We can do better like Harry did by taking responsibility, accountability and leading by example," Myers said.

She said her husband loved the base's workers and supporting its mission to feed, clothe and equip military members.

Matthew Greene, speaking after the ceremony, said despite being dedicated to his work, his father always made time to spend with family.

Greene said he remembers his father as a "very intelligent man (who was) probably one of the Army's leading technological innovators. ... I'll remember him as a loving man, a very caring man."

Marty Jones, president and CEO of MassDevelopment, an organization that works with the state's military installations, spoke about Harold Greene's efforts to introduce technology into the military and innovate. He pushed the military to adopt consumer technology such as video games to help train today's soldiers, she said.

State Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and state Sen. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, presented proclamations from the Legislature.

"The general was a warm, caring, really quick-witted person, who was an incredible military commander," Spilka said.

Workers at the base recalled the lighter side of his career, from stopping after a ceremony to do pushups with a roughly 80-year-old veteran to letting their children dunk him in a dunk tank at a family event on the base.

Brig. Gen. William Cole, the current senior commander at Natick Soldier Systems Center, spoke about when he used to work for Greene. Greene was in Washington, D.C., while Cole was in Afghanistan.

Despite a large time difference, Greene would make sure to participate in weekly video conferences with Cole. For Greene, taking care of and talking to his deployed soldiers was one of the best parts of his day, Cole said.

Cole challenged workers at Natick Soldier Systems Center to act like Greene did and remember three things every time they drive down the newly paved road that bears his name:

Make people you work with feel like their interaction with you is the most important thing you are doing that day. Mentor someone and give them advice "from your head and your heart," Cole said.

And, Cole said, "as a leader, keep the mission first but take care of your people always."